New Kid on the Block
by A Secret Masquerade
Summary: AU! Grimmjow Jeagerjaques has just moved to Karakura. But something in his past is unburied and what will Ichigo do when he finds out? This will contain shonen-ai in later chapters, meaning no sex, but general fluffery.
1. Chapter 1

The slam of car doors was what first woke Ichigo up. But it wasn't until he heard his father's voice several minutes later that he finally got moving.

As he listened to the snippets of conversation drifting through the open window, he gathered clothes that had been tossed to the floor over the time of the last week. Judging by the number of voices and their unfamiliarity, he guessed that the new neighbors that his dad had been prattling on about were finally here.

It was still far too early to even think of going down to meet them, so Ichigo headed to breakfast and decided to let fate choose when they would cross paths.

"Good morning, Ichi-nii."

Ichigo mumbled 'good morning' to his sisters and sat heavily at the table, allowing Yuzu to serve him an omelet.

"You're looking as gloomy as usual."

"'m not gloomy."

Karin just shook her head and went back to eating toast. It wasn't for another five minutes before their father burst in and tried attacking Ichigo.

"Gah! What the hell?!"

"You must always be ready for someone to jump you, Ichigo!"

"You freak, can't you at least wait until I'm done eating?"

"They won't stop for food~"

Neither quit until Ichigo finally got his father in a headlock.

"Hey, are you guys done yet?"

"Yosh! Now then Ichigo, get off of me and we'll go meet the new neighbors!"

"Not interested." Ichigo said after letting his dad go.

"Not getting off that easily!" Issin yelled as he, successfully grabbed and pulled his son towards the door.

"Oi, oi! Why aren't you taking Yuzu and Karin too?!"

"We already met them, have fun Ichi-nii!"

"Traitors!" he yelled back to them as he was yanked outside.

His father explained on the way to the other house that they had a son that was a year older than him. And that it would be good for him to make friends with the kid. Ichigo pulled him off and walked the rest of the way with no help, barely listening to what Issin said.

"Hello!"

"Oh, hello, Issin! This must be your son, Ichigo, right?"

Ichigo nodded and shook the two adult's hands that were offered to him. They both looked like normal, hard-working people. He felt bad for them having to live next to his weird ass family.

"Now where is that boy? Grimmjow!" the woman called.

"What?" the reply came from the back of the moving van.

"Come and meet your neighbors!" the man yelled.

"Alright, alright." the van roared back.

After a moment a head could be seen from behind the vehicle, the rest of the body soon followed.

His first thoughts on the guy was that he had weirder hair than his own.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"..."

"Well that was a great greeting." the woman said, sarcastically. "I just don't see how they couldn't want to get to know each other more." She said to her husband and Issin.

The teens rolled their eyes in unison.

"Right, I'll introduce my son then."

"Oh god." Ichigo groaned.

"Grimmjow, this is Ichigo; an antisocial, irritating, semi-genius."

"And this is Grimmjow; a troublemaking, back talking, socialite."

The two boys shared a look of irritation and boredom at the whole situation. This stemmed a feeling of comradery and the two shook hands.

"Aha! Contact, blessed be!" the woman exclaimed.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes again.

"Issin-san, would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"

'Sounds great! You boys play nice now."

Ichigo and Grimmjow watched as their parents entered the Jaegerjaques' home. The door shut and they looked at each other.

"They're subtle." Ichigo said with a straight face.

Grimmjow chuckled, slapping the orange head on the back. Ichigo shrugged the others hand off and smirked.

"So how 'bout showing me around, Ichi?"

"Look by yourself." He answered, then turned and headed back to his house.

"Not so fast, orange-fuzz." Grimmjow said lurching forward to wrap and arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Our parents said to be nice, right?"

"_...Orange-fuzz_?"

"Yeah, Orange-fuzz." Grimmjow said, slyly. Reaching out his free hand, he rubbed Ichigo's head violently.

"Oi, stop it you bastard!" Ichigo struggled to get out of Grimmjow's clutches, to no avail.

"Like you could do anyth-" He was cut off by and elbow to the stomach. Doubling over, he let go of Ichigo, who quickly stepped away.

"What was that you were saying?" He taunted.

"Oh, you're so dead." Grimmjow said as he stood straighter. Without warning, he leaped forward to tackle the smaller man.

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, but he could do little more than brace himself. As soon as he felt the other's body hit him and the ground rush up to meet them, he twisted so he would land on his side and not underneath the bulk of Grimmjow.

Then the punching started, neither putting their full strength behind the blows as there was no reason to.

At some point they had managed to get to their feet and now stood, breathing heavily and a little sore, but otherwise unharmed. The lingering tension in the air was immediately dispersed by laughter and after a beat Ichigo joined in as well.

"You're not bad, Ichigo."

"Back at you, Grimmjow."

"Call me Grimm."

They smiled; Grimmjow's looking more like he was baring his teeth and Ichigo's a cocky smirk.


	2. Chapter 2

AN- This chapter is really short and quite pointless. Technically you can just skip over it.

* * *

"But seriously, where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

"In my house it's either learn fast or die."

"Huh?"

"Uh, never mind. What about you, where'd you learn?"

"Worked on the technique as I went, all thanks to the gang. Speaking of which, wanna join?"

Ichigo chuckled lowly at the joke and took another sip of his latte. He stopped when he saw how un-joking Grimmjow looked.

"You have a gang." He stated blandly.

"Yeah."

"Right...Sorry I'll have to pass."

"Consider it at least, all of my guys are still back in Machida, so I need to restart here. It's actually a good thing I moved, the Espada will be able to branch out now."

"Your gang's name?"

Grimmjow nodded. Looking around Ichigo noted the strange looks they were getting in the coffee shop. It probably looked weird, two guys sitting in a cafe, drinking coffee and talking about a fist fight they just had. They had only started talking about things they liked, in a way to get to know one another better. Turns out that they both liked many of the same bands and preferred action to horror movies.

While Grimm took gulps from his black coffee and picked apart a blueberry muffin, Ichigo drank a Caramel latte.

"So why'd you move?" He asked, making small talk.

"My parents wanted a fresh start. I guess they hoped that a new scene would lead me from my evil ways." he replied with a flourish of his hand.

"That plan fell through." Ichigo muttered.

They lapsed into silence wherein Ichigo drained the last of his drink and stood. "C'mon, let's go somewhere else."

"Like where?' Grimmjow asked as he followed suit, leaving his mess of a muffin behind for the bus boy to deal with.

"I have to show you around, right?" He said as he chucked his empty Styrofoam cup into the trash.

"So we're just going to wander?" When Ichigo nodded, he continued. "'Kay.'

They left, neither noticing the relieved looks they received.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what classes do you have?" Ichigo asked his blue-haired friend. He read off the schedule that Grimmjow silently handed to him. "We have History and English together." He stated, handing the paper back.

"Still don't understand why we have to learn English. The lazy American's should learn Japanese." Grimm complained.

Ichigo ignored him and continued walking through the halls of the school. They finally reached their first class, History, and Ichigo lead the way through the door. His group of friends were already there and chattering.

"Oh, hello, Kurosaki-kun!" A busty girl chirped.

"Orihime, I told you to call me Ichigo." he replied exasperatedly.

"..."

"What?"

"Ichigo, who is that?" Rukia asked bluntly, looking beyond her friend.

"Oh right." He said then pointed his thumb behind him. "Everyone, this is Grimmjow. Grimm, everyone. The idiot red head is Renji, Orihime the tallest girl, Rukia the shortest, Tatsuki's the one that looks kinda like a guy. Chad the tall guy and Uryuu the nerdy one."

Successfully embarrassing or pissing off most of his friends, Ichigo put his stuff down at his desk. Turned away as he was, he didn't see the looks that his friends gave Grimmjow. And Grimm, who went to the desk next to Ichigo's, didn't see them either.

"Oi, that's my spot." Renji proclaimed, stalking over to try and be intimidating to the other, larger male.

Straightening from his crouched position, Grimmjow stood, his chest centimeters from touching the others. His predatory smile was in place.

"What are you going to do about it, Cherry Pie?"

"Wh-What did you call me?!"

"Cherry" Grimmjow's hand rose to caress Renji's face. "pie." forcing the last word in to a breathy sigh. He laughed harshly as the red head quickly back pedaled, sputtering as his face rivaled his hair.

"What the hell man?!"

"Renji, that language will not be tolerated in my class." The teacher said as she walked in with the rest of the class following shortly after.

"Uh, sorry, sensei."

"Take your seats everyone, and if I'm not mistaken, we have a new student. Grimmjow. I hope you have a wonderful time in Karakura."

Grimmjow seemed immune to the glares he received when he replied to the teacher. The rest of the class continued as per normal, the only difference being one more body and several dirty looks.

~*~

When the class finally ended everyone quickly got their things together and as groups, left to their second hour classes.

'Ichigo, we need to talk to you." Rukia said, the rest of the group flanking her.

"Eh? About what?" He asked, tossing his bag over his shoulder. Grimmjow wandered over, interested in the conversation.

"Can we talk _alone_?"

A concerned look plastered itself on Ichigo's face and he opened his mouth to agree when the warning bell went off.  
"Uh, sorry I gotta go, after class?" he said apologetically as he backed into the hallway, with a wave he was gone, Grimm following.

"Now what?" Tatsuki asked.

"We've got to tell him about Grimmjow, he doesn't know about him." Rukia said.

"You...You think he would try any thing with Ichigo?" Renji asked.

"Doesn't look like he has, yet, but no telling about the future."

After a moment of fearful silence they went their own ways, planning to corner Ichigo at the end of the next class.

~*~

The bell rang and a flood of students filled the hallways.

"We don't have any classes together now or I'll see ya at the end of the day." Ichigo said while waving half-heartedly over his shoulder.

"Alright, see-" A groups of kids rushed up, grabbed Ichigo and ran away with him. "His friends are fucking weird." he said, heading the opposite way to his class.

"What the hell guys?! I was just coming to find you!"

"Never mind that," Rukia said seriously. They had brought him to an empty classroom and made him sit in one of the desks while they all stood, surrounding him. "We think you should know a few things about Grimmjow."

"He's in a gang." Tatsuki blurted out, irritated at how slow the conversation was going.

"Yeah, and?"

"You know?" Uryuu asked.

"Yeah, he told me. It's probably nothing, just some guys from his neighborhood that act tough and start a fight or two." He said with a shrug.

"He killed someone." Chad said tonelessly.

"What?" Ichigo asked in a disbelieving voce.

"Luppi Trepadora. His head was cracked open." Renji supplied, not bothering to conceal his disgust.

"It-it's just someone else."

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaques; blue hair, matching eyes and animalistic." Orihime listed off in a sad voice and shuddered slightly.

Ichigo's eyes were wide, he couldn't believe it.

"They saw him leave the body behind; he was laughing with his gang mates." Rukia said.

"Then why isn't he in jail?" Ichigo asked, sure that this would trip them up and help prove his friend's innocence.

"Because, though they saw him the people knew it wouldn't hold up in court, defense would argue that it was too dark that night to properly see anyone. And then he would be free and wanting revenge. They moved because his parents were ashamed to stay in a town that thought their son was a murderer." Uryuu said.

Ichigo went silent, understanding how truthful his friends really were being. Rukia spoke once more.

"There's one more thing, he's also known as someone who can get ianyone/i to bed with him."

"..."

"Ichigo," Renji said slowly. "He's a rapist."


	4. Chapter 4

Ichigo had fallen mute several minutes ago and showed no sign of ending that. His friends filled the silence with more facts on the case that they heard from others.

"Do you understand now, Ichigo?" Rukia asked in a firm but consoling voice.

Kurosaki continued his inspection on the desk top, not replying. Suddenly and with a decisive air, he stood his face in lock down.

"Thanks." He muttered before leaving the room, shutting the door silently behind him.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said and went to rush after him, but was stopped but a hand on her arm.

"Tatsuki-san?"

"Just let him go for now. I think he wants time to think it all over."

~*~

The class that Ichigo's friends had thrown him into was at the back of the second story of the school, and because Ichigo was in no hurry, he didn't reach the main floor until after the last bell rang.

Allowing himself to be pulled along in the throng of students, he noticed that Grimmjow was waiting for him just outside. Ducking his head behind a group of seniors, he hid from his once-friend. Sticking with the slowly dwindling group and keeping his hair out of sight he walked the opposite way that he usually took to go home.

When far enough away that he couldn't see the school any longer, Ichigo broke off from the flock and looped around to go back home. Using the back door, he stepped into the kitchen.

"Ah, Nii-san, you're back late!" Yuzu said, upset with him. "Do you want a snack?"

"No thanks, just dropping off my stuff."

"Are you going to hang out with Grimmjow?" this from Karin.

Ichigo winced at the name and only tossed his bag into the living room and went back out the door.

He ran...

And ran...

And ran...

Letting the wind whip away any thoughts, just feeling his breath move in and out. He didn't pay much attention to where he was going, but he did notice when the air turned cold and the sky started to darken. Ichigo's legs burned and chest ached; he had been running for too long.

He slowed down to a jog, then a walk, then stopped all together, panting heavy enough to see his breath. Glancing around Ichigo recognized where he was and walked to the end of the street and turned right. In front of him was a kiddie park that he used to go to when younger.

Letting his feet take the familiar steps, he found himself sitting in a swing much too short for his lanky body.

His throat was now dry and he felt tired from the run, but no les confused. Using his heels, Ichigo pushed himself back and forth.

"Oi."

Ichigo jumped slightly at the noise, fingers tightened on the steel chains, his head shot up to meet the irritated gaze of one blue haired teen.

"Where the hell were you?" He asked, throwing himself onto the other swing. "I waited for ya for, like, fifteen minutes and ya didn't show. When I went to your house, your sister said you were out but didn't know where. I've been searching for hours!"

"Don't ever come to my house again." Ichigo said through gritted teeth.

"Huh?"

Standing, he ignored Grimmjow's question. "Don't go near my sisters. Just stay the FUCK away."

He didn't look back and he didn't waver as he walked away. Not when Grimm called after him or when he started yelling at him and not even when he fell quiet.


	5. Chapter 5

All the next day Ichigo did everything he could to avoid Grimmjow. He took the long way to his classes, came in late to the ones he shared with the other and left immediately after the bell rang.

At the end of the day Grimmjow knew not to so much as step over the property line to Ichigo's house.

The rest of the week passed much the same, now and again Grimm would find Ichigo, but he always managed to slip away.

Finally on Saturday morning, Grimmjow had his chance and he'd be a fool not to take it. Ichigo was hurriedly shoving his things onto his locker hoping to get out of the open hallway sooner rather than later. Without thinking about it too much Grimm rushed forward, as he ran by he wrapped one arm around Ichigo's waist. Not breaking his stride, he flipped him over his shoulder.

For a few seconds all was fine, albeit very confusing. Then Ichigo's mind caught up with his body and he started trashing and squirming to get away.

"The hell do you think you're doing, you bastard?!"

He didn't bother answering and kept running, not know where he was running to. Ichigo saw that many students were staring at them in surprise and fear and noticed some were whispering to each other.

"Why the hell aren't you helping?" he asked though he already knew the answer. None wanted to get between Grimmjow Jaegerjaques and his prey.

Ichigo became aware that he was rising and he realized that they were going up to the roof. Unable to do anything to stop him, Ichigo tried to think of a plan.

Pushing open the door, Grimmjow revealed the blank expanse of the roof. Setting Ichigo against the chain link that surrounded the space; he took a few steps back and made sure that he blocked the door back down.

"Now, we're gonna talk and you're gonna tell me what the hell bit you on the ass."

"What, are you going to keep me up here until I do?"

"Yeah." Grimmjow said simply.

"Screw that." He said, standing up and making towards the door. When he got closer, though, Grimm stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"I said we're not leaving 'til we talk." He punctuated it with a push.

"And I said, I'm fuckin' leaving." Ichigo shoved back. Grimmjow returned and they volleyed until someone landed a punch and then all bets were off and nothing could stop them from trying to make the other a bloody pulp. Grimmjow was able to trip Ichigo, but on his way down he managed to grab hold of Grimm's shirt and pulled him down with him. They fought to get back up and land punches on the other at the same time.

After what felt like an hour, they reached an unspoken truce and just lay on their backs, gasping for breath.

"Now...tell...me...what the..._fuck's_...your...problem!"

"I...know...what..." _Fuck, did he break a rib?_ "You...did."

"What?" Grim asked able to control his breathing enough to sit up.

"You killed that kid." Ichigo stated, able to move, but unwilling to. "And that you're a fucking rapist!" He glared at the few clouds floating by.

His smirk of victory faded and Grimmjow stared at the fence. "The bastard deserved it." He growled.

"Like hell! Heard he was some kind of brat. Annoying but not someone to deserve the fuckin' death sentence."

"Bullshit. He was way to big for himself."

"And _that_ gets him killed?"

"Fuck," Grimm shouted and stood, he took a few steps away. ⌠You don't know the whole damn story, alright? You got that stuff from your little friends."

"Then what is the whole story!" Ichigo said as he shot upright.

Grimmjow turned and gave Ichigo a searching look. Apparently finding something in him satisfactory, he sat back down in front of the red head.

"We were together."

"Partners, right? I already knew that too, which makes even _less_ sense for you to kill the guy."

Grimmjow snorted. "We were partners in more ways than one.'

"What, you mean like-"

"Boyfriends."

"W-wait, you're _gay_?" Ichigo asked as he unconsciously scooted back.

"Jeez, don't sound so damn surprised." Grimm said and rubbed the back of his head.

"So...wait, what about the rape?" Ichigo asked, the word falling heavily from his lips.

The blunette looked disgusted and leaned back on his hands. He spat to one side before answering.

"That was Luppi. We got into a fight and he decided to get back at me by spreading a rumor that I raped him and a bunch of other members."

"And that why you killed him?"

"That part came afterwards." Grimmjow said, shaking his head. Ichigo said nothing and watched him expectantly. Sighing, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"After the first fight, we got back together, and I admit after it, I sorta let him take some control. But the little fuck wouldn't stop taking, now he was ordering _my_ guys around. Tried to get him to remember his place, but he got too greedy and had the gall to tell me _I_ should be the one to back down and let _him_ take charge. I knew I couldn't let him go on like that, so I challenged him to a fight. No weapons or anything. It's how we settle shit in the gang-whoever wins is right.

"I wasn't planning on killing him. 'S not like he was a guy to waste, good in a fight...great in bed...But even when I had him beat, he couldn't just let it die. Called me out, said I had to have been cheating. That broke one of our codes, to take the fights outcome as is. If I didn't give him the full punishment for that, I'd have to suffer the same consequence, an' then my men would do the same to him."

"So you did kill Luppi." Ichigo stated his words weighty.

"Yeah, I killed him. I liked the guy, but I wasn't goin' to die for him."

"You laughed, afterwards..."

Grimmjow looked defeated for a moment before he composed himself once more. "That was for self image." Prompted by a questioning look Ichigo gave him, he elaborated.

"I'm the leader, I need to be strong, deliver justice unflinchingly, yadda yadda. One of the guys cracked a joke about how Luppi screamed when he died, I had to laugh and it had to be convincing."

Grimm paused and rubbed his face before continuing.

"The guys didn't know, _couldn't_ know, that that night, I tore up my room. I was so fuckin' _pissed_; at the gang for forcing my hand, at Luppi for being an idiot, but mostly at myself."

His face seemed to soften but as ice replaced not a second afterwards, Ichigo couldn't be sure. Neither spoke for awhile after; Ichigo digested the information and Grimmjow got lost in his memories.

"So...You cared about him, and then killed him to save face?" Ichigo said, partially to help work it through his head.

"...When you say it like that, it sounds so damn selfish...I guess it is." He fell to his back, hands folded to pillow his head. ⌠I regret it, yeah, but in truth - I would do the same thing if given a second chance. So, maybe you should follow what your friends say, what you think, 'cause I might just do the same to you."

"...Wait, what?"

"What what?"

"What, like I'd be your next Luppi?"

Grimmjow stared at him for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what Ichigo was getting at. When he realized what he was trying to say, he couldn't help but grin.

"You think I'm gonna make you my boyfriend?"

Ichigo blushed lightly, but didn't say anything. Grimmjow chuckled, and then studied the boy for almost a minute.

"Hn, it's not so unlikely." He said with a soft, leering smirk.

Swallowing thickly, Ichigo crab-walked backwards several feet. Feeling playful, Grimm followed on all fours. Stopping just short of the other, he sat on his haunches, elbows resting on his knees. Still grinning, he said ⌠You afraid of me now, Ichi-kun?"

Wary, Ichigo didn't move any further, but wasn't going to come closer either. Seeing how he was affecting the kid, Grimm leaned forward to see how far he could push that boundary. With only a moment of hesitance Ichigo lifted his leg to hit Grimmjow square in the chest hard enough to push him on his back.

Springing back up into a crouch, Grimmjow pounced. Landing heavily on Ichigo, his weight bringing them both down to the roof. He moved fast to trap the red head below him, lest he squirmed and get away. Pinning his arms down with his hands and his legs by his shins.

Grimmjow dropped his head low enough for his breath to ghost across Ichigo's lips. The brown-eyed boy's heart leapt to his throat.

_In fear._ Ichigo thought. _Fear._

Less than a centimeter from kissing, Grimmjow laughed and pulled away to sit a foot from Ichigo. Wide-eyed, he sat up as well, scooting a few inches further.

"Don't get your boxers in a bunch, I _don't_ fuck the unwilling."

A strange sense of calmness and irritation settled over Ichigo at Grimm's behavior.

"Freak."

"I don't see you running away screaming rape. You're more of a freak than me."

Ichigo opened his mouth to retort, but realizing how pointless that would be; he closed it with a click. Grimmjow sighed, throwing his head back, he closed his eyes.

"Look you can leave; you could have for awhile now actually. Just, think about everything, okay? If you wanna stay friends, I'll meet you in the street at 7:30 tomorrow morning. If not that should be enough time for you to go past before I get there."

Ichigo didn't say anything and after a moment Grimmjow heard him stand and leave. He lingered on the roof, sleeping and thinking for the rest of the day, not going back down until the final bell rang.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Grimmjow waited at the corner, just like he said he would. He'd been standing there for 15 minutes now, but was still reluctant to leave. Another five minutes passed and he knew that he'd be late to school now, but he still didn't move.

Just when he was about to give up and go, he saw a beacon, a mess of bright orange hair, bobbing down the street toward him. Grimmjow didn't hold his breath though, figuring that Ichigo would just run past him, probably late because his alarm didn't go off or something. Even with his mind making rationalizations, he was rooted to the spot.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. My alarm didn't go off."

_One out of two ain't bad...Fucking great actually._

"Didn't expect this."

"Yeah, you did, why else would wait so long?" Ichigo said blandly before walking down the street. Grinning, Grimmjow followed.

~*~

Grimmjow, once they were back in class and left to work on the assignment in quiet, was reluctant to ask why Ichigo chose to stick with him, but it still bit at him and he opened his mouth to ask anyway.

"Because," Ichigo said, startling Grimm. "I figure that even though you're bat shit crazy, you can't be totally gone 'cause of how you feel about...what happened. So I'm going to give you another-fuck, I don't know-chance."

Grimmjow stared at him for a moment, amazed. "Are you brain damaged?"

Ichigo scowled, "Don't know why I think you deserve a second chance." He turned back to his textbook; his pencil paused in its writing when he felt a finger pressing into his shoulder. He slowly turned his head to Grimm and saw him grinning wolfishly.

"You liiiike-"

"Finish that sentence and-"

"Me." Grimmjow finished a glint in his eye before he leaned in closer.

"Gah! Get away from me you fag!" Ichigo hissed in a way that only showed discomfort.

Grimmjow laughed and backed off, pulling the other's sheet closer, he began to copy. "....So-"

"I called them last night to talk, they don't trust you nearly as much, but they're ready to show mercy if you prove to not be a psychopath."

"How do you _do_ that?!"

Ichigo chuckled and grabbed his paper back. "You're just that predictable."

Grimm rolled his eyes and snorted.

"One more thing," Ichigo said in a serious voice. "Renji hates you."

Grimmjow looked back to where Renji now had to sit, near the door. The red head was glaring over at them.

"Fun."

~*~

Weeks passed and in that time Ichigo slowly lost the wall that he put up between himself and Grimmjow all but forgotten what the bluenette had done in the past.

His friends, on the other hand, didn't and showed their disapproval through constantly having one of them with Grimm and Ichigo at all times. Even going so far as to forcibly spend the night at his house as often as possible. Renji was the worst, for obvious reasons, he even went so far as to stand between the two of them if possible [though this was partially to annoy Ichigo].

One good thing that happened in those weeks is that Grimmjow managed to find himself some friends of his own. So, even though he would rather hang out with Ichigo, whom he had more in common with, he at least had a backup.

**~Interlude: Wherein we look into Grimmjow's mind for a moment~**

_Hn, it's not so unlikely._ That's what he said, and he was right, Ichigo had great potential. Hot, smart, good fighter, not some light weight fairy. He was the perfect catch. But Grimmjow didn't see him like that. Oh no. Just because he admired the guy's physique, didn't mean he wanted a piece of that ass.

He caught sight of that very same ass not far ahead of him in the sea of students and a strong feeling of possessiveness filled him.

"Oh..._This_'ll be interesting." He mumbled to himself in an exasperated tone.

~*~

Grimmjow with his new crew snuck into a movie theater, well not so much snuck as casually strolled past the ticket counter as the teller eye them warily. As they left the theater, Grimm caught sight of a bobbing head of orange next to one of red and another of black.

Bidding his friends adieu, Grimmjow closed in on the unsuspecting trio. Once in range, he dashed forward to crash into the two males, keeping them upright with an arm around their shoulders.

"'Sup?"

Renji pointedly stepped out of the teen's grip, jaw set, while Ichigo smiled charmingly and just shrugged the arm off.

"Hey."

"What are you guys up to?"

"Nothing, you?"

"Just saw a movie."

"Which?"

As the two friends talked Rukia stared moodily ahead, now and again interrupting their conversation with her own opinions. While Renji argued with himself; he had to get to a job interview, but was reluctant to leave Ichigo to Grimmjow with only Rukia as protection [He mindfully forgot that Ichigo was completely capable of protecting himself]. The decision was made for him.

"Oi, Renji, don't you have an interview to go to?" Ichigo asked, nearly perfecting his innocent voice.

He sullenly looked at his friend; Renji begrudgingly nodded and turned off on the next street. Grimmjow, struck by a sudden epiphany, made the excuse of meeting back up with his friends and faded back in the crowd. Ichigo slowly realized what this meant; he was now alone with Rukia.

"Let's go to the petting zoo!" the short girl announced and without the benefit of the majority, Ichigo had no chance in hell and was pulled along after the girl.

Meanwhile Grimmjow made his move, darting down the same street Renji took before. It wasn't long before he found him. Renji heard the quick footsteps behind him and looked back to see the blue-haired teen barreling down on him. The red head waited for Grimm to come to him, a sneer on his face.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"What?"

"Why do you have such a stick up your ass about me and Ichigo?"

"Because you and him can't _be_ together!" Renji yelled, finally reaching his limit.

Grimmjow started to looked pissed and snapped back, "Why the fuck is that? Because I'm not good enough for him?" Renjis face seemed to open. "Yes!" Grimm started to speak, but Renji stopped him.

"You're a gang member, you killed a kid -WHATEVER your excuse, he's _dead_. And Ichigo, however much of an ass he can be, doesn't need to get close to you. He doesn't need the risk that the guy he likes will turn on him and kill him." Renji ended his rant in a dark tone.

Grimmjow went silent, understanding the conviction in Renji's words. Glaring at the red head's solar plexus, Grimm knew that without Renjis okay, there was an exponentially lower chance of successfully getting with Ichigo. "I know what I did was wrong. I get that. But Luppi...Luppi _isn't_ Ichigo. I don't think I would be able to kill him." He laughed. "I don't know if I would even be _able_ to kill Ichigo, he's got a great right hook."

Renji looked contemplative for awhile, considering the others words and their sincerity. "I don't like you." He said quietly, missing the 'no, really?' face Grimmjow made at him. "And I damn sure don't trust you. _But_ Ichigo does, well enough anyway. So I have to. But I swear to God if you do _anything_ to him-"

"I won't." Grimmjow interrupted firmly. Renji studied the blue-eyed boy and with obvious reluctance, he extended his arm, offering his hand in truce. Grimm took it confidently. "I probably won't have a chance to prove that, anyway." Renji gave him a questioning look. "I don't know if he even likes guys, let alone me." He elaborated.

Renji stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?!"

"Of course he like you, you fucktard!"

"...Huh?"

Renji looked ready to start hitting his head against the wall, or better yet, Grimmjows.

"God, how stupid are you? Why else would he ever give you a second chance? Haven't you seen that idiotic blush he gets?!"

Grimmjow hadn't really noticed any of this about Ichigo. He had passed the blushing off as just Ichigo being embarrassed about people seeing the two so close when Grimmjow leaned in a flirted.

"Trust me; he would have left on that corner if there wasn't something there. But with Ichigo being how he is, he might not even realize it himself." Renji stated, before leaving Grimmjow alone to his thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Once back home Grimmjow fell onto his couch and stared at the ceiling, contemplating what Renji revealed to him. ⌠So, Ichigo likes me, eh?■ he said to the light fixture and grinned. He thought on it for some time and slowly found himself an answer to the unasked question. To congratulate himself on his finding, he took a beer from the fridge and turned on the TV to the baseball game.

~*~

Ichigo felt good about the day. It was a Saturday, there was only three hours of school and tomorrow he didn't have to do anything but be lazy. He was so content even Grimmjow and Renji's odder-than-normal behavior didn't faze him.

"Hey, Ichi, wanna go grab lunch after school?" Grimm asked.

"Uh, sure." He answered, looking to his other friends and wondering if they were going to invite themselves along. It seemed as though Rukia was going to, but was quickly halted by an elbow to the ribs. As she glared at Renji, he shared a quick look with Grimmjow. Ichigo could feel a sort of tension in the air and acted quick, in hopes of aleving it.

"Hey how about we go bowling on Sunday?"

His friends agreed and talked over the plans and the tension was broken. They laughed and joked as they waited for the teacher to come. The day went by quickly and soon Ichigo and Grimmjow were heading to the local American restaurant. They sat down at an empty booth and tucked into their burgers.

"So I heard something about you." Grimm started.

"Eh?"

"From your pal, Cherry-pie."

"And?" Ichigo asked with interest.

Keeping his head bent, Grimm looked up at Ichigo seriously. "Oh, nothing big. Just that you're gay and you want me." He took another fry, letting it hang from his lips before making it disappear.

The burger that Kurosaki brought to his lips fell back on to its plastic wrapping with a _splat_ as he chocked and gasped for air. Several people looked at their table with concerned or irritated glances. After forcing his food back down the correct pipe, the orange-head sputtered at Grimmjow for a few moments and to his credit Grimm didn't coo at the expression on his face.

Ichigo finally managed to hiss out, "I'm _not_ gay!"

"Tha's not what Renji said."

"Well, Renji's a lying fuck-face."

Grimmjow finished off his burger, content to let the teen try to deny his words as he blushed fuchsia. After realizing that Ichigo might as well be ranting at himself, he stopped talking and filled his mouth with the rest of his fries. Grimmjow finally spoke again.

"Listen, even if you don't like me," Grimm faltered for a moment, unsure of how to phrase this without sounding like a pussy. "I think you're pretty hot. How about another night to think about it, eh? Talk to you tomorrow at the bowling alley."

Grimmjow hadn't intended on offering such a thing, but he knew that overpowering Ichigo and making him admit his homosexuality wouldn't end well and he would kiss his dreams of taking the kid as a lover goodbye. At a time like this he needed charm, finesse and all that other bullshit.

He stood and took his tray to the garbage bin before leaving. Once out of the building Grimm flipped open his phone and after a few numbers and words, he had plans for the rest of the day that would distract him from stray thoughts about what just happened. Ichigo was on the opposite side of the spectrum where he was left dumbstruck, and with a mouthful of half-chewed fries for a few moments before he noticed the other customers staring at him. He quickly finished and tossed his rubbish away, immediately he headed for home, feeling too tired to want to deal with the rest of his friends.

"Hey Ichigo."

"Hey Karin, Yuzu." He replied distractedly as he shut he door behind him and headed up to his room. He passed his father in the hallway, blocked an attack and merely grunted. He could hear him talk to his sisters about how he was now, apparently, becoming a man. He shut the door on their voices and fell face-first onto his bed. Once it became hard to breath, he turned his head to the side. Across the room a yellow stuffed lion stared at him through felt eyes, Yuzu won it from a claw game and in her gratitude for giving her the money, she gave it to him. He swore it was laughing at him through those fake eyes. He chucked a shoe that he forgot to take off at it and it landed on the floor with a squeak. The smirk that formed at the action faded to a brooding pout.

"Had to give him the second chance, didn't I?" he muttered without humor.

Safe in his own mind, he didn't bother to reject his gayness; he already had that argument with himself before he even knew Grimmjow. But just because he'd come to terms with being gay didn't mean he was ready to announce it to the world. Granted the world wouldn't give a damn about one gay boy in Japan, but that was beside the point. The point was that he didn't want his family knowing it.

His dad would be the idiot he always was and probably go tell everyone he knew, including that creepy hat-and-clogs guy. And he didn't think his sisters could handle news concerning sexuality, completely forgetting that at their age he was already masturbating. Plus having a boyfriend-having _Grimmjow_ as a boyfriend would out him in a second. In any case, he didn't know if he was really liked Grimmjow in that way. Given his history, he didn't think he was the type of guy he'd be willing to come out of the closet for. He was brash, crass, rude and had a history of violence and even murder! Sure he was hot; no point in denying that, but appearance wasn't something you based a decision such as this on. On the other hand: he also liked the same things Ichigo did, knew how to have fun and was able to make him loosen up more. He was torn between wanting to be with Grimm for their similarities and the near subconscious urge to come out, and wanting to refuse the proposal for their differences and fear of becoming a statistic in a homicide case.

Tossing and turning on his bed over the matter, Ichigo weighed each side before finally coming to a decision that allowed him to fall asleep.

~*~

The next morning he was awakened by Yuzu knocking on his door and informing him that breakfast was ready. With a groan, he got up as he heard his sister's steps going back down the stairs. He realized he never changed out of his clothes from yesterday and he quickly switched out his shirt and jeans before going down to the kitchen.

"Morning!" Karin said cheerfully as she set a plate of eggs and a bowl of rice in front of Ichigo.

"G' morning." He responded and nodded at his father.

"You're feeling better today?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah."

"Ichigo," Ishin started. "I think you and I should talk."

"And that's our cue to leave." Yuzu said as she picked up her food and went to the living room. "Call when you're done." Karin followed close behind, her own food in hand. Ichigo looked at his dad confusedly, waiting for him to elaborate.

"There comes a time in a young man's-"

"Oh _hell_ no!" Ichigo interrupted, horrified. "This isn't going to be some after school special." He said then stood and rushed outside, grabbing his coat along the way. Halfway down the street he pulled out his cell phone to check the time then called a few numbers.

It was earlier than his friends expected, but they all promised to be at the bowling alley within the hour. Hanging up finally, Ichigo took his time walking down the familiar streets to his destination. When he finally reached the 'Pins and Needles' alley, most were already present, only Grimmjow, Chad and Uryu had yet to come. Ichigo joined his friends and added his name to the player list.

"Ichigo! You have to be partnered with someone! There's too many of us for one lane." Rukia said matter-of-factly. Ichigo looked at the roster and noticed that everyone was paired up.

"Who am I supposed to be with?"

"How about me?" Said a familiar voice from behind him.

"Ah, Uryu, finally!" Rukia said. "You're late!"

"Sorry, I wasn't ready when you called."

The group looked on as the two bickered about getting ready in the morning. Not long after Chad arrived and then Grimmjow sauntered in.

"Yo!" Grimmjow called to the group and paused at the sight of the argument. "Cat fight?" He mumbled to Ichigo.

The orange-head chuckled as he avoided looking at Grimm. Soon everyone had their partners and the game was able to begin. They played for places and soon the teams participating became less and less until it was just Renji and Rukia versus Ichigo and Uryu. It was the last frame and it was obvious who was going to win. Ichigo set Ishida up for failure, getting their pins into a seven-ten split. After a glare at the offender, Uryu stepped forward and in one graceful move sent the ball rolling down the lane at a gentle curve. Less than a hand away from the ten-pin, it took a sharp turn hitting the pin at just the right angle to send it flying at the other, successfully knocking them both over and into the trench behind. Clapping and congratulations were had as Ichigo and Ishida shook hands.

"Whoo! Go Ichigo an' the geek!" Grimm cheered in a surprising supportive way, even with the insult. Ishida didn't even bother to stare at Grimmjow in annoyance. Renji offered to get everyone drinks and Orihime and Rukia went to help bring them all, while Ichigo and Uryu joined the others at the table. Grimmjow, from across the table tried to meet Ichigo's eyes, but was failing horribly at it. He was starting to get irritated, which wasn't good.

"So, Ichi, you decide yet?" He finally asked, speaking loudly enough that the rest of the group stopped talking and looked between the two, Ichigo managed to not blush and look pissed.

"...Yes." He said icily, wondering if he might hit someone else if he tried to kick Grimmjow in the shin.

"Aaaand?"

"........Yes, but on a trial basis."

Without a thought to the others present and not wasting a moment, Grimm stood and grabbed Ichigo's shirt, pulling him up as well. Expecting a fight, his friends rose to either get out of the way or step in to help their comrade. Taking one hand off of Kurosaki's shirt, he grabbed the back of his head and near slammed their faces together in a harsh and possessive kiss, uncaring of the gasps and appalled looks they garnered. After several stunned seconds, Ichigo realized what was happening and pulled away. Grimmjow let him go albeit, reluctantly so. There was a stunned silence among the group and with the awareness of a prey cornered, Ichigo knew that just behind him was Rukia, Orihime and Renji, who had gotten back just in time. The silence stretched.

"So, you told him." Renji stated before continuing down the stairs to the lane and passing out the drinks he held. When everyone had their cups, Renji raised his. "To Ichigo, finally admitting to his homosexuality!" He announced to the patrons of the bowling alley. Ichigo wanted to punch him in the face. That is, until his friends raised their glasses as well and the rest of the bowlers went back to their own games, only now and again shooting weirded-out looks their way.

Not long after the group disbanded, having other things planned for their day off. Much to Ichigo's surprise, Renji lingered some time after the other's had left and the trio began to wander around town. He felt that there was a sort of less-than-menacing-animosity between the other two teens, but Ichigo shrugged it off. Finally Renji checked his watch and declared that he had to leave.

Once alone with his now supposed boyfriend, Ichigo felt like punching him in the throat. "Okay, what the hell was that back there?" He ground out.

"What? I though' it went well." Grimmjow teased. "Why? Don't you, love?" He pulled Ichigo closer by his hip.

Ichigo squirmed away and kicked Grimm in the back of his knees, causing him to topple. "You really going to start the abuse this soon?" Grimmjow egged. "Aren't you violent types supposed ta lull your victims into a false sense of safety first?"

"If anyone's the violent type it's you." Ichigo hissed and continued walking. Grimmjow caught up and the two sustained a conversation much like that until they got to their houses and, uninvited, Grimm followed Ichigo to his.

When they walked in they were immediately met by Ishin rushing at them, foot aimed for his son's head. Ichigo calmly ducked and turned to stare at his father with an eyebrow raised. "I believe I have taught you all you need to know about self-defense." Ichigo held back a laugh while Grimm didn't bother. Righting himself, Ishin looked between the two teens for a moment before speaking again.

"Well, it looks like I'll have to change the speech a little." He said, almost to himself. "But before that! Congratulations you two! Not what I had in mind when you were introduced, but." Ishin ended with a shrug.

Ichigo and Grimmjow looked at each other, not understanding, and then realization hit Ichigo like a bucket of ice water.

"Whu-wait-I-uh-" He stuttered out, a light blush flashed across his cheeks and ears.

"What? Did I guess wrong? Are you two not going out?" Ishin asked simply.

* * *

Author's corner: DONE! FINALLY DONE WITH THIS FREAKING FIC! AHAHAHHAHAHAHA~ It's been at least three months since I started the damn thing and I'm DONE! cB *cough* Now then. Yes, this is the end. No I have no plans on making another in this situation or a continuation of this story. It made a little part of me die. Correcting comments? Critique? Hate mail? GTFO. I don't care about you fucking opinions. Kind comments? I love you. Seems pretty simple, yes? Yes.

If you watch me as an actual writer and not just for this one fic: You won't see something new from me for awhile as I'm going to next work on one of my original stories. If you are interested [don't know why you'd be ] I post my original works at Karo-Kun on .

That's all from me bitches, see you around~3MoB


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